I Am Not My Sister's Keeper
by Virgo Writer
Summary: Sometimes trying to keep two people apart is the very thing that brings them together. A Touya-centric S&S romance.
1. Interpretation

**I Am Not My Sister's Keeper**

Summary: Sometimes trying to keep two people apart is exactly the thing that brings them together. An S+S romance from Touya's POV.

This is probably more T+N than S+S seeing as it is Touya's perspective, but I just thought it was an interesting way to see Sakura and Syaoran. The story is set in the canon universe, but Sakura and Syaoran HAVE NOT confessed their feelings and are only friends at this point even though five years have passed since the cards were captured. Some Japanese, but most of its rudimentary stuff like titles etc. or the kind of thing that comes up so often in fanfiction you now implicitly know what they mean. Will translate if I think it's necessary.

Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura.

I Am Not My Sister's Keeper - Interpretation

It was the 28th of February, which was about as close to Kinomoto Touya's birthday as it was going to get this year, it not being a leap year and the general populace still unwilling to recognise the day he came into the world more often than every four years. Regardless, his date of birth being somewhat of a fiction in such years, Fujitaka was taking them all out to dinner in recognition of the fact that he had been around for twenty three years now with nothing yet to deter that course.

"You should know, I refuse to sing 'happy birthday' or offer any birthday related sentiments," Nakuru teased as she happily glomped his side. That had been her response to his suggestion that as her birthday gift to him she could refrain from any unnecessary glomping. There was always at least one person in every group who took it upon themselves to point out the obvious.

"You are a very economical friend to have, Tou-kun," she added, still refusing to unlatch her arms from around his form. He cringed from the childish nickname she had imposed on him. "You're only one quarter of the effort, and ten times the fun!" She laughed loudly and squeezed him tighter, causing the twenty three year old male to sport a rather fetching blush.

"Yes, how old are you really 'nii-chan?" his imouto, Sakura, joined in with Nakuru's teasing. The mahogany haired girl responded for him, cutely holding up her palm to indicate five years. Touya frowned – he was technically almost six and felt that should be accounted for.

"You are so kawaii, Tou-kun!" she squealed at his pained expression, happily pinching his cheek.

This gesture engendered a laugh from Yukito who always enjoyed watching Touya's cheeks turn red from anger and embarrassment (and probably a little hanyann Touya wasn't quite ready to admit to) as Nakuru ignored his demands for personal space. It also earned a chuckle from the teenage boy seated next to his imouto-chan, and quite frankly, sitting far too close for Touya's liking.

"Perhaps you should call him 'otouto-chan'," the Chinese gaki suggested with a snort.(1) Touya still refused to acknowledge the fact that his sister was friends with that thing, and feverishly denied the thing he had known from the start – that this gaki was Sakura's destiny even if she was still miles away from realising her feelings for him. At least he hoped she was miles away.

"Mou, Syao-kun," she admonished, although the wide smile that reached her eyes and the playful slap to his shoulder seemed to defeat the supposed scolding.

Touya recognised the whole thing for what it truly was – his sixteen-year-old baby sister was _flirting_ with that _gaki_ and Touya would have none of it. The way she purred his name, the shortened address to something more intimate, the way her hand lingered on his chest unnecessarily, and did she just scoot closer to that boy! Oh, she was so getting it now. His eyes narrowed dangerously in their direction.

"C'mon, kids," Fujitaka cheered, including both the three twenty something year olds (none of which were truly their age – both Nakuru and Yukito only came into existence less than ten years ago) and the three teenagers in his address. "We need to go now to get our reservation. Hiragizawa-san and Mizuki-san will be wondering where we are."

Touya wondered briefly why he was spending his birthday celebration with Sakura's friends, but the bright look that she sent their father explained it all. Sakura had been somewhat responsible for the guest list and for some reason thought it appropriate to invite his ex-girlfriend who was now romantically involved with the half-reincarnation of some sorcerer (his father being the other half) who had stalled his aging so that he appeared the same age as his sister (this he found incredibly creepy, but was pretty sure that Kaho would be moving on soon to a younger model as she had with him). Not only that, but she had taken it upon herself to invite Akizuki Nakuru who would undoubtedly attach herself to him for the rest of the evening.

"Thank you for letting Syaoran-kun and Tomoyo-chan come with us, 'Tou-san," she said sweetly, smiling up at their father endearingly. The warm smile Fujitaka returned seem to convey a hidden message of approval that did not go unnoticed by Touya.

Touya also did not fail to notice the order in which Sakura spoke her friends' names. Tomoyo came second to that boy now, where as before he wouldn't have even made it onto the list. Seven years ago there was no such person as 'Syaoran-kun' – at least as far as Sakura knew – and Touya considered that a much simpler time when he wasn't in constant fear of losing his sister.

Fujitaka hustled the group towards the vehicles. Nakuru insisted on accompanying him on his bike, while Yukito and the teenagers took the car. Touya snarled a little at the travelling arrangements, or rather the fact that Sakura was sandwiched between her two friends in the back seat of Otou-san's hybrid sedan. He swore it was some kind of conspiracy, probably that she-devil Daidouji-san meddling once again. He just knew his camera-wielding second cousin had something up her sleeve and would be using everything at her disposal to get those two together.

The thought caused him to flex his grip on the throttle and the speedometer to rise. It was never a good idea to be around Touya when his 'sister-complex' came to head, and even more so when he was on his bike.

"Slow down, Tou-kun!" Nakuru cried gleefully, holding him a little tighter as she rested her chin on his leather clad shoulder. Her long hair trailed behind them like ribbons in the wind as the sped through the streets of Tomedea at something that didn't come even remotely close to the speed limit.

It was one of the things he liked about Akizuki Nakuru; she never meant it when she told him to slow down. On her command he increased the throttle, and allowed the cool wind on his face and her cheerful laugh in his ear to cool his temper.

"Oh damn that Sakura-sama," she complained almost suddenly. "She's used loop on us."

"Huh?" Touya asked in surprise.

Nakuru shook her head at him. "You're not nearly as observant without your magic, Touya-kun," she told him sweetly.

"Says the girl who wanted to steal it from me," he replied grouchily, his eyes trained on the road.

"You can have some of mine," she offered, tapping his chest lightly and letting out a spark of her magic that warmed his body. "Although I'm not sure you'd approve of the method of delivery."

"And what vehicle, pray tell, will fulfil such a role?" he questioned, turning his head so that he could glance at her to see if she was serious.

"A kiss," she replied, before capturing his lips with her own. He could feel his body tingling from the surge of magic that flowed from her, filling the emptiness in his soul. At least that was what he told himself that undeniable sense of warmth emanating from her was – that it was magic and not something more perturbing. He understood that this – although she would probably deny it – was his birthday gift, and even if it was temporary, it was exactly what he wanted. It was the chance to say goodbye.

"Now, Tou-kun," she purred softly, her lips by his ear and her warm breath on his cheek. "Slow down."

* * *

"What took you so long?" Sakura asked smugly when Touya and Nakuru finally arrived, both their faces flushed from the high-speed ride. "We've been waiting ten minutes." She glanced at the gaki, who sniggered at her cruel trick. Touya was sure it had been the gaki's idea, and just went to show that he wasn't the kind of person that should be hanging around with his sister.

"I don't know, Sakura-chan," Nakuru replied, drawing her pointer finger to the corner of her lips in a gesture of mock thought. "Perhaps some naughty card mistress played a mean trick on her brother in the hopes that – as usual – he would be driving too fast to notice, and thus delay him by ten minutes."

"Who would do a thing like that?" Sakura responded, blinking her eyes innocently. The two shared a look that Touya didn't understand, almost as though Nakuru had known all along. "C'mon!" Sakura cheered before Touya could consider that look further, "Kaho-san and Eriol-kun are waiting."

With that a somewhat annoyed looking maître de led the seven of them through the restaurant to a large round table where Kaho and Eriol were in fact waiting for them. Two seemingly inanimate winged teddy bears lay upon the table – one jet black and the other a golden yellow.

_'Great,'_ Touya thought sulkily to himself, _'even the stuffed animals get invited. Do I have no friends of my own or something?'_

"Syao-kun, sit next to me," Sakura insisted happily, drawing Touya's attention from his thoughts. He glared as the Chinese gaki obligingly took a seat next to his dear sister, gritting his teeth together at the sight of the pair.

"Mou, Touya," Nakuru said softly beside him as she dragged him down into a seat. "Be nice."

Touya frowned, but allowed his jaw to slacken ever so slightly into a sulky pout.

"Smile," she commanded, "you look so handsome when you smile."

The corner of his mouth quirked slightly at her comment, but it was clear that was the most she was going to get with that brat seated so close to his sister. Sakura smiled wanly at the two males either side of her glaring darkly at one another, glancing helplessly at Nakuru for some kind of assistance.

"Tou-kun?" Nakuru asked sweetly. Touya glanced her way briefly before returning his glare to Syaoran for fear that the gaki would try something while he wasn't looking. He grunted to show he was listening.

"How is your chair?" she asked.

He frowned briefly at her question. What on earth kind of question was that? He turned his head, unable to deny her his attention after such a phrase. "It's fine," he answered her in a clipped fashion, glancing at her worriedly.

"Good, 'cause I think we should switch," she told him with a determined nod. "My chair is too soft, and I can still see the lobster tank from here and they make me sad."

"The chairs are all the same, and I can see the tank from my seat as well," he said flatly, rolling his eyes at the soft-hearted guardian. "If you don't want to see the tank then you should swap with Yukito-san or 'tou-san as they've both got their backs to it."

"But then I won't get to sit next to you, Tou-kun," she pouted, thrusting her lip out at him and her dark chocolate eyes looking large and innocent. "Your seat feels firmer," she added, poking his cushion. She leaned over him to make her final point. "You can't see the lobsters from your seat, Tou-kun, only the tank. You can't see their sad little eyes and their little clippers all bound up like prisoners."

Touya blushed as he caught a whiff of her scent – she smelt sweet and citrusy like a lemon tart, and he caught a hint of some other flavour that told him she had spent the day baking. "Nakuru, I am not moving," he replied somewhat flustered and thus failing to correct his address. He glared pointedly at Syaoran to ensure that he got the message that he would be staying put as long as the gaki remained so close to his baby sister.

"Fine then, we'll share." Before Touya could argue, she scooted closer, and began to encroach on his chair territory. She swung her legs over her knees, letting him know that she would not be content sitting on the edge of the chair, and as nice a thought as it conjured, Touya immediately turned bright red and slipped off the side of the chair, relinquishing his place to its new owner.

Nakuru smiled triumphantly at the whole table, while Sakura sent her a small, grateful smile. Not that the distance made any difference to Touya or Syaoran, who continued to glare daggers at one another across their respective females.

Eventually a waiter arrived to take their orders, going immediately to Sakura's side. As usual, she was taking her sweet time and asking questions of the various dishes. Anyone else might think that she was doing her darndest to monopolize the waiter's full attention, but Sakura was just incredibly indecisive when it came to dining out. The waiter did not seem to understand this distinction (assuming the former rather than the latter) and immediately began to shower Sakura with indiscrete compliments to which the auburn haired girl was oblivious.

_'Looks like we finally agree on something,'_ Touya thought to himself with a snort as his eyes met Syaoran's briefly as they both refocused their glares upon the waiter speaking with Sakura. He tried to convince himself that anyone was better than that stupid gaki when it came to his sister, but in the end he realized that logic did not extend to twenty-one year old smarmy waiters. A look of understanding passed between Touya and Syaoran, indicating that the latter was to do what it took to get her away from the waiter.

"I was thinking of getting the chicken breast myself," Syaoran cut in, referring to the two choices she was dilly-dallying between. His eyes narrowed dangerously at the waiter. "Why don't you get the snapper, and we can share?"

Sakura's face brightened at the suggestion, and Touya couldn't help but cringe at how happy just a few brief words from Syaoran were able to make the young card mistress. "The snapper please," she said happily, blushing as she glanced at the object of her affections.

"What can I get you, mademoiselle?" the waiter asked smoothly, turning his attention to Nakuru.

Touya's eyes narrowed once again, not given a second to rest now his little sister was free of his advances. He was so concerned with glaring at the waiter that he didn't hear a single word of what was spoken.

"Touya-kun," Nakuru called, dragging him from his bubble of loathing, "what did you want?"

"You order for me, _anata_," he told her as he settled his hand next to hers, and carefully intertwined their fingers.(2) His eyes narrowed at the waiter in gesture that quite clearly said 'back off' in no uncertain terms. Nakuru looked pleased at his suggestion, which didn't surprise him as Nakuru was always trying to order food for him whenever they were out together, and was always bringing him food during their classes even when she'd seen him prepare his own lunch earlier. She seemed to have a strange obsession with feeding people (well, really just him and Spinnel Sun, but it still counts).

"What did you order?" he asked once the waiter was far enough away and no longer a threat.

"I got the comfit of duck," she replied, "and I ordered you a steak with a side of fries."

Touya shook his head at her. "You're the only person I know who won't eat lobsters because of their sad little faces, but is more than happy to take a serving of roast duck." His lip twitched ever so slightly into something close to a smile, but otherwise his expression remained stony.

"Do you see any ducks around here?" Nakuru asked haughtily, waving her hand in a sweeping gesture of the restaurant. "I just think it's cruel to eat them when they can see us. It's like taunting them with their fate." She looked sad after that expression, and Touya frowned at her tone. He never did like it when she was unhappy.

Eventually the meals came, and Touya watched his sister carefully, only taking his eyes from her in order to glare at the waiter any time he came near their table. It was not particularly surprising that they were eventually approached by an entirely different waiter when it came time to order the next round of drinks.

She spoke to the Li boy constantly, taking more pleasure in pieces of food from his plate than her own, leaning across him to grab something from Nakuru when it would be just as easy to reach for the thing from behind, and causing all sorts of unnecessary contact. He wondered when his sister had become so skilled in the art of flirting, but it quickly became clear when his camera wielding cousin sent Sakura a 'thumbs-up' sign from across the table. Sakura had apparently been given lessons in the 'art of seduction'.

Oh and they were working. Every blush that flashed across that blasted gaki's cheeks told him that the boy was falling for her feminine wiles, well, that is assuming he wasn't long gone already. Touya suspected it was the latter, but would not let such thoughts make their way to his conscious mind.

Touya didn't know whether to be appalled or impressed with her 'talents'. After all, Sakura had never had a mother to teach her all the things a girl needed to know when it came to boys, and yet she was able to apply them so flawlessly to this particular boy. After giving it only a moment's thought, he decided to go with appalled.

When it came time for dessert, he was presented with a beautifully decorated peach blossom cake adorned with five large candles, and one just a quarter shorter than the other two. His name had been written in the peach coloured frosting, well sort of. Because Nakuru clearly couldn't help herself, the characters for 'Tou-kun' were drawn out deliberately, with little frosting hearts and glazed peach petals surrounding it.

"Make a wish, Tou-kun," Nakuru commanded softly, a gentle smile upon her lips.

Touya nodded. He knew exactly what he wanted to wish for.

_'I wish,'_ he thought to himself as he stared intently into the burning candles. _'I wish I knew how to stop imouto-chan from falling in love with him.'_

What a waste of wish. He should have known better than anyone, there was no way of stopping destiny. But even more importantly than that . . . he should have known it was already too late.

~ to be continued ~

This is a nice little four parter on how Touya eventually resigns himself to the S+S coupling. It's very Touya-centric so there won't be a major amount of S+S moments. I've been working on this one for a while now, and I've almost finished the final chapter, so I thought it was about time to start posting it.

Hope you liked it. Review.

* * *

**Translations:**

(1) _otouto-chan _means little brother – yeah, Syaoran, that was totally lame but we still lub yah!

(2) _anata_ means 'my darling' (sort of, it's kind of complicated). Essentially it's a very strong signal to the waiter that Nakuru was taken, even though she isn't.

* * *

**Next chapter:**

"Don't you have a girlfriend?" he gasped, hardly catching his breath. He typed discretely on the open laptop where he had an open chat window – **Shit! I think Kinomoto Touya just asked me out!**


	2. Interference

**I Am Not My Sister's Keeper**

Summary: Sometimes trying to keep two people apart is the very thing that brings them together.

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura. I do own certain key phrases such as 'sister loving bastard' but not in a legal/enforceable sense. I just thought it was a really good phrase and felt like mentioning it twice.

* * *

**Last chapter:  
A voyeuristic Touya deplores his sisters growing feelings for a certain amber eyed gaki.**

* * *

I Am Not My Sister's Keeper – Interference

Back at the Kinomoto household, Touya received his gifts from those present. He graciously accepted the magical items from Kaho and Eriol with a tight smile – they all knew that this sort of thing was useless to him now, but it was the thought that counted, right?

Yukito's thoughtful gift received another tight smile. It was a scrapbook of their various outings, and Touya couldn't help but notice that Yukito had included a disproportionate number of photo's including Nakuru given that he had known Yukito a whole three years more than he had Nakuru. He also wasn't the least bit pleased to find that many of the pictures that included Sakura, also included a certain chocolate haired gaki.

"This is from great-grandfather," Tomoyo said warmly, handing him a red envelope branded with the Amamiya crest.

_'Such lineage will surely bode well for the Li clan,'_ Touya couldn't help but think to himself. As if her being the card mistress didn't deem her a suitable wife for their clan leader, she would always have her mother's well-to-do family to fall back on when their father's magical heritage wasn't enough.

Since they had been reunited with their mother's estranged grandfather, it was always the same gift every year – a ticket for Touya to come to country cottage at his leisure. He did not hide his surprise at finding two tickets and not one inside the branded envelope and uttered words to that affect.

"Great grandfather said it was so you could bring 'someone special' with you," his second-cousin responded ever so innocently. She caught the eye of her co-conspirators, sharing a longer glance with the equally evil Hiragizawa-san.

_'Damn that evil camera wielding she-devil,'_ he thought reproachfully. _'Damn them all.'_

"Does that mean I'll get two tickets for my birthday too?" Sakura asked curiously, a dreamy smile pulling at her lips. "Does that mean I get to have someone special?"

As if Touya wasn't in a bad enough mood already, the hopefully glance she sent in the gaki's direction at the mention of 'someone special' was enough to make him want to kill. And not just anyone. If that stupid gaki _dared_ to look in Sakura's direction right now, he wouldn't hesitate to commit the most gruesome murder that anyone in Tomoeda had ever seen.

Moving along from Touya's murderous thoughts . . . Fujitaka, always the practical one, bought him the software upgrade he had sort of being harping on about since news of it leaked onto the internet. Yes, Kinomoto Touya was now the proud owner of a licence to Snow Leopard OS X (packaged with iLife '09), which only went to prove how much of a geek he was. Daidouji-san gave him a shirt, which was . . . nice of her, he supposed. At least it was until he noted that the colour matched Nakuru's eyes and immediately had to rid himself of such thoughts.

"This is from the kids at the hospital," Nakuru told him as she handed him several bound pages filled with children's drawings. He was about halfway through his rotation in paediatrics, and surprisingly, got on quite well with the kids there. He guessed that Nakuru had mentioned something to them.

Next came the gaki's gift. This did not bode well with Touya. Not the fact that he had got him a gift per se- as Touya was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, even if that gift horse was a snotty nosed Chinese brat with a thing for his sister – but rather the gaki's reasons for giving him a gift. It was clear that this was done only for the sake of Sakura.

"Do I have to give it to him?" the sixteen year old asked his friend, sending her a pleading look that Touya be damned if it didn't cause a blush to streak across his imouto's face.

"Yes, Syao-kun," she replied ever so sweetly, the name grating upon Touya's nerves the same way it had the first time he heard her speak it. Even Tomoyo and Yukito didn't receive such a familiar address. "Your mother and sister's would be very disappointed if you didn't."

With a sigh of acquiescence, the gaki handed over the package, disclaiming any part of it with the words "it was my sisters' idea."

Touya grimaced as he accepted the gift, politely opening the card first which had been kindly crafted by the gaki's four over-enthusiastic sisters. He still shuddered a little at the thought of the Li women, including the matriarch who was frightening in an entirely different way.

Unfortunately for Touya, he understood enough Chinese and English to understand the foreign sentiments randomly dispersed between words in his native tongue. He suddenly wished he had dropped Cantonese and English much earlier in life, and bemoaned his father's insistence that learning a language (or better yet, two) was a mark of character. Trust the Li sisters to find the optimal way to annoy him – as though having the Li heir around his sister wasn't enough.

The birthday card/letter read as follows: (1)

_Néih hóu super kawaii sekushi tanrei Touya-kun! _

(Touya cringed at their description)

_We hope you are well and looking after xia lou and his precious Ying Fa._

(That one made him curse aloud. Sakura was in now way 'his' and never would be if Touya had anything to do with it)

_We wish you gambatte kudasai in your hok yip, and hope that you come and visit us again soon in Hong Kong._

(That sentence alone seemed innocent enough, however, the phrase that followed it brought up all sorts of evil connotations that sparked Touya's anger once again)

_Perhaps for a fan lai!_

(_'Over my dead body,'_ was all Touya could think at that suggestion. Like he'd even let that gaki come close enough to his sister to put a ring on her finger, let ask her the question)

_Sang yat fai lok, Touya-kun!_

(Finally a sentence he could find no qualms with, well other than the use of Touya-kun)

_Love from Fanren, Fuutie, Feimei, and Shiefa Li._

_P.S. Please send Nakuru-chan our love!_

Touya couldn't help but groan as he finished reading. If he and the gaki were on better terms, then Syaoran might have said something along the lines of 'be happy that you're not related to him' or Touya might have offered some sort of condolences for having to live with the four hyperactive women. Instead he moved on to opening his gift from the Li family rather begrudgingly.

_'Crap,'_ Touya thought, trying his best to look at the present in an uninterested fashion. It was just his luck that the best gift he had ever received in all twenty-three years of his life (bar the 'gift of life') just happened to be from the stupid, no-good _bakayarro._ It was a hardcover, first edition of 'On Diseases and Injuries of Arteries, with the Operations Required for their Cure' first published in 1830– a book so rare that Touya didn't even care that it was in English and so in order to read it he'd probably need the aid of an English to Japanese dictionary as big as the book itself.

He knew exactly what the book was worth, and he knew how hard a find it was. He had secretly been watching one be traded away on ebay, his heart breaking when he saw the figure race up to the English equivalent of half a million yen.(2) And that was a freakin' reprint! Here in his hands was one of the original thousand copies of the book, in mint condition, and it was all thanks to that stupid, sister-loving bastard!

"Isn't there something you wanted to say to Li-kun?" Nakuru asked sweetly, giving him a pointed look.

"Thank you," he said stiffly, trying not to sound like he actually meant it. He'd be good and send a thank you note to the Li sisters later, but for now he would be damned if he showed the brat even a morsel of gratitude.

A scoff escaped the brat's lips, before Sakura promptly elbowed him in the ribs and sent him a pointed look of her own, forcing him to emit an insincere "you're welcome" before pouting under Sakura's harsh gaze. They already acted so much like a couple that it made Touya stew in his boots.

For his birthday, Sakura had sweetly made him a pencil case to bring with him to class, decorated with all the markings of his sister. Touya watched as the gaki leaned towards his sister, making some comment about chopsticks that made both of them blush, and Sakura giggle like it was the funniest thing she had ever heard.

_'Great,'_ Touya drawled sourly to himself, _'now they have their own little jokes. I swear I'll kill him the next time he so much as smiles in her direction.'_

And then he did it. For a full ten seconds (Touya counted) the two glanced at each other with a sort of dreamy smile as though they were in their own little love bubble. Quite frankly, Touya had had quite enough of that.

"That's it!" he yelled jumping to his feet, and forcing the two to look in his direction, thus deflating said bubble. "Out of my house!" he yelled while glaring at the Li brat and pointing sternly in the direction of the door.

The gaki just raised an eyebrow in his direction, while giving Touya a superior look. Had Touya not been so busy glaring at the aforementioned gaki, he may have noted several figures in the room desperately trying to withhold laughter. These figures were Fujitaka, Nakuru, Yukito and Tomoyo. Sakura, on the other hand, was less than amused.

Sakura immediately jumped to her feet, meeting her brother in a defensive stance. Her diminutive figure made her no less intimidating as she glared frostily at her elder brother.

"'Nii-chan, I can't believe you!" she fumed at him, her anger so strong that she didn't even care about the show she was putting on for their visitors. "This is Otou-san's house, not yours. You haven't even lived here for the past two years. You have no right to kick my _friends_ out of this house!"

"I can and I will!" Touya fumed back, leaning forward threateningly. He felt Nakuru move to his side, trying to calm him down, but the affectionate glance sent furtively in the gaki's direction only sparked him on. "How can you call him a friend after what he did to you?"

For a moment Sakura looked at him with a confused expression, but her eyes narrowed as she realized what her brother was talking about. "That was more than six years ago, Onii-chan. Syaoran-kun apologized, and he has more than made up for it in all the ways that he has helped me since. If I can forgive him, then so should you."

"What he did was unforgivable," Touya muttered back, no longer referring to the event six years ago. It was now quite apparent from Sakura's display of anger that Touya's worst fear had come true – Sakura was in fact in love with the gaki, and Touya would _never_ forgive him for that.

Li Syaoran had made Sakura fall in love with him, and that for Touya, was absolutely unforgivable.

"Well, on that note I think we should all call it a night," Fujitaka called abruptly, smiling pleasantly at everyone present. With such a warm disposition, people couldn't help but wonder where Sakura and Touya both got their fiery tempers from. "You're all welcome to stay the night if need be."

Eriol, Kaho, and Tomoyo immediately dismissed his offer, as he knew they would. Sonomi still wasn't quite comfortable with her daughter being out of the protection of her numerous bodyguards for long periods of time, and any overnight visit had to be scheduled in advance, where as Kaho and Eriol just didn't feel close enough to accept the offer.

"Li-kun?" Fujitaka questioned, turning to the boy his own son had just attempted to remove from the premises. "I know Wei-san is out of town, so you are welcome to stay until he returns. My office doubles as a spare room, and I give you full permission to go through whatever's down there."

With a grateful nod he accepted the offer, the promise of whatever the office beheld merely sweetening the deal. Kinomoto Fujitaka was not a stupid man, and as long as Syaoran remained more interested in his office than his daughter's bedroom, then the boy would be welcome to stay in the Kinomoto house. The second that changed, the boy would be out on his ass and probably defenseless to any punishment Fujitaka thought fit to let Touya dish out.

Touya began to protest, but was silenced by a stern look from his father. "Yukito-san? Nakuru-chan?" Fujitaka questioned warmly, turning to his two friends/roommates. "What about you two?"

Yukito declined the offer as he had an early start the next morning at the bakery, and didn't want to wake anybody when he got up at four in the morning. Touya and Nakuru tended to sleep through his early wake up calls, but he knew for a fact that Fujitaka was a light sleeper and suspected that Syaoran was the same.

Like Syaoran, Nakuru accepted the offer, and Touya could have sworn he heard her whisper a quiet "domo arigatou, 'Tou-san". Whatever she said seemed to make his father smile very warmly, and for her to blush slightly. Touya didn't think he had ever seen Nakuru looking so shy in the five years he had known her.

Touya had never been more grateful in his life that his sister's room was the furthest away from the stairs. Any attempt made to get to Sakura's bedroom would be heard first by him, and then by his father. Ok, so mostly it would be heard by Otou-san, but Touya would endeavour to ensure that no one got near his sister without his knowledge.

Nakuru shook her head at him as she settled herself down upon his old bed. Touya had long since given up on trying to stop her from doing such things. There was only the couch as an alternative, and as much as Touya liked the fact that it would mean an extra obstacle between the gaki and his sister, Nakuru seemed to be dead set against.

"Touya-kun, I am very disappointed in the way you acted tonight," she told him sternly as he sat down on the bed. "You should apologize to Sakura-chan. Not to mention Li-kun."

Touya scoffed at the name of his arch-nemesis.

"That's it, Touya," she said, crawling towards him so she was kneeling opposite him. "Repeat after me," she commanded in a voice that told him there would be hell to pay if he didn't do as she said. "I, Kinomoto Touya . . ."

"I, Kinomoto Touya . . ." he repeated after her, choosing to humour her rather than have to argue with the burnet. He rolled his eyes all the same, and Nakuru narrowed hers.

"Am not my sister's keeper . . ."

"Am not my sister's keeper . . ." he admitted grudgingly.

"And do solemnly swear . . ."

"And do solemnly swear . . ."

"On my undying and everlasting love for Akizuki Nakuru . . ." she said wistfully, holding her hands to her chest. "Say it," she commanded before he could protest.

Touya raised an eyebrow at her, but repeated after her all the same. Nakuru's smile widened at the words, ignoring the fact that they were spoken upon her instruction. In her mind, they were no less valuable.

"Not to interfere in my imouto's love life," she finished. She gave him an even sterner look with those final words.

"Not to interfere with imouto-chan's love life," he finished tiredly.

"Good," she finished, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him down with her to lie on the bed.

Touya immediately struggled out of her grasp. "You know the rules," he answered sternly when she pouted in his direction. "I let you sleep in here, and you promise to keep a distance of at least a meter."

Nakuru just smiled at him innocently. She never once told him that it was the other way around; that really it was she that let him sleep in her bed, and not as he supposed. As if Fujitaka would expect his guest to sleep on the couch while his son was all cozy and warm in a bed. Fujitaka was nothing if not hospitable.

With a sigh, she made herself comfortable, pulling the blankets around her as Touya lay down on the opposite side of the bed. She took one last glance at him before turning on her side, noting the crease in his forehead and the grim line of his lips.

"You're already planning something, aren't you?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Go to sleep, Akizuki-chan," he deadpanned in reply.

_'At least it's progress,'_ she thought as her eyes began to close. _'Five more years, and maybe he'll finally call me Nakuru on purpose, and not just because he's too flustered to stop himself.'_

And as Nakuru drifted into a sombre sleep, Touya was in fact plotting a devious scheme to rid his sister of the clutches of the gaki, breaking the very promise sworn upon his love. He ignored the slight pang of guilt that accompanied the breaking of said promise, trying to tell himself that you couldn't be held to a promise made on a thing that didn't exist – you needed consideration for a promise, and that consideration had be real.

It was a scheme tried and true. It was practically a classic. And if it worked, then it might just be enough to protect his sister from the one person she least needed to be protected from, and probably the only person capable of causing her incomparable pain.

But he would protect her all the same. She was his imouto-chan, his precious little sister, and it was his duty to keep her form harm.

"I am my sister's keeper," he whispered into the night. "I am."

* * *

Elsewhere in the Kinomoto household . . .

Kinomoto Fujitaka smiled as he felt his wife's presence drifting nearby. He couldn't see her, but it was enough for him to know she was there.

"Sakura-chan is certainly growing up, isn't she?" he asked, sensing his wife's assent rather than actually hearing or seeing it. "He's a nice boy, and before you say anything, it's not just because he likes archaeology. He'd be nice even if he was into sociology of all things." He shuddered at the mention of his department rival.

He sensed a giggle.

"Poor Nakuru-chan," he continued gently. "I do wonder how we managed to raise a son so dense. I always figured Sakura would be last one to work out her feelings like this, but it doesn't hurt to be wrong sometimes.

"It's nice," he said softly as he drifted off to sleep, "to see your children with the ones they love."

* * *

Touya was in the Med School library the next day, sitting across from a young man of about nineteen years in one of the seminar rooms. Signing up for the mentoring programme had been Nakuru's idea, not his, but he was unexpectedly glad that he had agreed as it seemed to be the perfect means to his end.

"Are you seeing anyone, Ishikawa-san?" Touya asked suddenly, breaking the silence that had settled between them.

The young man across from him, Ishikawa Heero, began to choke on his own saliva, spluttering as he glanced at his mentor with eyes the size of dinner plates. "Don't you have a girlfriend?" he gasped, hardly catching his breath. He typed discretely on the open laptop where he had an open chat window – **Shit! I think Kinomoto Touya just asked me out!**

Touya frowned at the response, not really understanding the relevance of the question. "No," he said plainly, looking him sternly in the eye.

Heero desperately turned his eyes away, glancing at the screen where the reply awaited him. **Doesn't he have a girlfriend? Such a shame. Kinomoto-san is totally hot!**

**He says no.**

**You sure he's not dating Nakuru-san? They seem really 'couply' – everyone thinks so.**

With a sigh (because he knew he'd get in trouble if he didn't ask) he turned to Touya. "Aren't you guys dating?" Heero asked, pointing to Nakuru who was sitting on the other side of a glass pane in the next cubicle with her own mentee. When she noticed them glancing in her direction, she waved animatedly. The girl sitting opposite her mouthed the word 'well?' in his direction.

It was now Touya's turn to splutter, and he immediately became red in the face. "Me and her?!" he asked, seeming completely outraged by the possibility. "What on earth gave you that idea?"

Heero shrugged nervously, scooting a bit further away from Touya. "It's just you guys seem to spend a lot of time together, and not just in class."

"We live in the same apartment," Touya replied frostily with narrowed eyes. "It's because we're always going the same direction."

"Okay," Heero said quickly, pretending that it was an acceptable answer. He typed another message into his chat window – the action seemed a reasonable one as he was technically supposed to be typing out the changes that Touya had helped him with on his latest assignment. Touya would never know that he had spent most of his time flirting with the girl in the next cubicle via instant messenger.

**He says no.**

He noted the girl in question rolling her eyes. **Denial much! Did you see how red he got? Oh he so has the hots for her!**

**Then why is he asking ME out!?**

**Why don't you ask him?**

**I can't ask that.**

**Well, ask something. Neither of you have said anything in the last four minutes. I guess you should just let him down gently.**

**Thanks, Ayame-chan. Thanks for your help.**

With a deep breath, Heero attempted to follow Ayame's instructions. "Look, Kinomoto-san," he began apprehensively. "I'm really flattered and all, but I just don't think of you that way. I hope we can still be friends."

"What the hell are you on about, you baka?" Touya asked condescendingly. "Please don't tell me you thought I was asking you out. I'm not into guys, and if I were I'd go for someone better looking." (A/N: Like Yuki-kun LOL)

Heero felt both relieved and insulted by Touya's admission.

"I want you to go out with my sister," Touya said suddenly before Heero had the time to settle himself.

"So I'm not handsome enough for you, but good enough for your sister?" Heero asked sceptically, wondering if Kinomoto Touya had always been this crazy.

"She has questionable taste," Touya replied nonchalantly, although the twitch at his eye suggested that he had someone in mind. Perhaps a certain Chinese gaki, who Touya had to admit was probably reasonably good looking for a brat. Stupid kid was all exotic looking and lean from his martial arts. He probably made all those high school girls swoon when he walked down the hall, and sadly that included his precious imouto-chan.

"Uh . . . well . . . thanks for the offer, Kinomoto-san . . ." Heero began awkwardly.

"It wasn't an offer," Touya replied darkly, eyes narrowing.

"Kinomoto, I-"

"You'll pick her up from here at seven," Touya said, pushing piece of paper across the table. "I think we're done for the day," he said standing up. "I'll let you get back to your chat with Tajir-san."

And with that Kinomoto Touya was gone, leaving a startled Ishikawa Heero trying to work out what the hell just happened. He suddenly regretted signing up for the mentor programme.

~ to be continued ~

Hehe . . . scary Touya. And so 'Operation Keep Sakura-chan Away From Chinese Gaki' has begun. How will Sakura and Syaoran's love survive against such insummountable odds AKA Touya? You wanna find out, you're just gonna have to review.

* * *

**Notes:**

(1) These are the relevant translations in the Li sister's English/Japanese/Cantonese letter:  
_Neih hou_: Hello (Cantonese)  
_Kawaii_: Cute (Japanese)  
_Sekushi_: Sexy (Japanese)  
_Tanrei_: Handsome (Japanese)  
_Xia lou_: Little Brother (Cantonese)  
_Ying Fa_: Sakura (Cantonese)  
_Gambatte kudasai:_ Best of luck/Try your best (Japanese)_  
Hok yip_: studies/education (Cantonese)_  
Fan lai: _Wedding ceremony (Cantonese)  
_Sang yat fai lok_: Happy Birthday (Cantonese)

(2) That's over £3000 and over US$5000, which is pretty damn expensive for a book even though medical textbooks are pretty expensive anyway. The book described would probably be worth upwards of £200,000.

* * *

**Next Chapter:**

"He's never going to accept him, is he?" she asked suddenly, tears filling her emerald eyes with the sad realization. "'Nii-chan's always going to hate him."


	3. Indefatigable

**I Am Not My Sister's Keeper**

Summary: Sometimes trying to keep two people apart is the very thing that brings them together.

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura. And I probably should have said that I don't own anything affiliated with Apple, aside from my own purchasing of Apple products - I (heart) my ibook!

* * *

**Last chapter:  
Touya attempts to forcibly remove Syaoran from the Kinomoto residence, and is forced to come up with 'more subtle' means of extricating Syaoran from Sakura's life.**

* * *

I Am Not My Sister's Keeper – Indefatigable

"Touya-kun! What happened?" Nakuru asked as she caught up with him outside the library. "Heero-kun looks like he just saw a ghost. Or something equally as scary.

"What did you do to him?" she finished as she eyed him suspiciously.

Touya ignored her and kept walking in long strides towards his bike. She raced ahead of him, blocking him from his vehicle.

"Kinomoto Touya, you answer me right this instant, or I'll . . ." she trailed off, unable to come up with a sufficient threat that she would be willing to extol upon him.

"You'll what?" Touya asked neutrally, stepping around her and straddling the bike. "I've got to see Sakura-chan. You coming?"

With a shake of her head, she positioned herself behind him, wrapping her arms around his mid-section as she always did. She knew she was the only one who could stop him from doing something stupid right now, and stop him she would. Hopefully Sakura-chan would forgive her for any acts of stupidity preceding this point as she could do nothing about those, though she was sure they had occurred.

She just hoped he hadn't done anything he would regret.

They were at the Kinomoto residence in no time at all, which was unsurprising given that Touya tended to drive with his emotions. Hoping to put Sakura in a good mood, he patiently knocked on his own front door. At least he did until heard the following:

*giggle "Syao-kun, stop."

At the sound of his imouto's voice laughing and squealing excitedly, and the information gleaned from said squeal that the gaki was in his house, Touya barged in without hesitation. He was sure that his father had rules about boys being unsupervised in the house, and he himself certainly had rules regarding that particular boy.

"Mou, Syao-kun," he heard his sister voice as he got nearer. "Stop being so mean."

"I warned you, Sakura-chan," the boy responded in a tone that sounded almost _seductive_ in Touya's paranoid ears. "If you're not going to pay attention, then I'm going to have to punish you."

"But, Syao-kun . . ." she begged, pouting at the boy. Touya stepped into the room, waiting for them to acknowledge his presence. He was grateful to see that the pair of teens were still fully clothed and not looking particularly dishevelled. He was appalled to find them sitting side-by-side on the couch.

_'Damn, gaki,'_ he thought icily.

"Sakura-chan, if you don't pay attention then you'll never learn, and then I'll have to go on to next grade without you just because you refused to come to terms with simultaneous equations," the boy admonished, tapping her sweetly on the nose, which only made her pout further. "Now watch carefully, because I'm not leaving you behind."

"Thank you, Sayoran-kun," she said softly as they both leaned over the coffee table to examine the equation. "I don't know where I'd be without you."

For the briefest moment, Touya's gaze actually softened at the scene. It was almost sweet, and this was probably the first time he had ever seen the pair alone together. Anyone else might have noted how different Syaoran was for Sakura, but Touya was unlikely to get that sentimental.

"Syoran-kun, I . . ." she began nervously, trailing off as he turned to meet her eye. "Syaoran, I . . . uh . . . wa-watashi . . . watashi wa su-"

"Ahem," Touya said, coughing loudly to get their attention before Sakura could finish _that _phrase and damn them all.(1)

"Onii-chan!" Sakura cried as she jumped to her feet, completely forgetting that she was still mad at him for being so rude to Syaoran the night before. "What are you doing here?" she asked, obviously flustered.

"What is he doing here?" Touya asked pointedly in reply, before adding darkly, "_unsupervised_."

"I'm helping Sakura-chan with her algebra," the brat replied stonily, the caring persona seen with Sakura only moments earlier disappearing completely and being replaced with the aloof Syaoran known to everyone but her. "And in case you've forgotten, your father invited me to stay while Wei was out of town."

Touya scoffed loudly, returning the kids haughty glance. _'Helping with her algebra my ass,'_ he thought viciously ignoring all evidence consistent with Syaoran's explanation, including the two Grade 11 math textbooks laying open before them and the fact that they had been talking about equations when he entered the room. In fact, he explained it all away with the words 'that devious, underhanded Li bastard', assuming that the kid has somehow arranged things that way.

Touya was convinced that 'doing algebra' was some kind of euphemism for something he did _not_ want his sister engaging in, _especially_ with _him_. It was probably something about finding x and marking spots. Or square roots. He was probably teaching her all about the 'rules of operations' if you know what I mean, and I wonder if you do, because I'm not even sure what I mean, but in Touya's head it meant something very, very dirty.

The brat rolled his eyes, as if reading Touya's thoughts. "Was there something you wanted, Kinomoto-san?" he asked, so polite you could almost ignore the waves of unrestrained disdain rolling off him.

"Yes," Touya answered pointedly. "I'd like to talk to my sister. Alone, as in, go away," he said slowly, in a frighteningly calm tone.

Syaoran stood, rolling his eyes again. "I'll just be in the kitchen, 'Kura-chan," he told Sakura. Touya growled at the overly familiar address as the gaki smirked past him to the kitchen as promised, only stopping once to glance back at the blushing Sakura.

"What's wrong, Touya-'nii-chan?" his sister asked sweetly, worry evident in her eyes. "Has something happened to Otou-san?" she asked, immediately jumping to the worst conclusion. "Have you and Nakuru-chan had a fight?" And then the second worst.

Nakuru stepped into the room at the sound of her name, glancing at Sakura apologetically. She still had no idea what Touya had done, but she knew that whatever it was, it couldn't be good, not if he was worked up like this.

"Nothing is wrong, Sakura-chan," he assured her, frowning and pacing as he spoke. "In fact, it's good news." He stopped suddenly, forcing himself to smile cheerfully, however, in light of its reluctance the smile looked nothing short of creepy.

"Sakura, I've found you a suitor," Touya announced proudly.

Sakura frowned, not quite understanding the meaning of his words. Nakuru gasped. "Touya . . ." she breathed softly, incredulity heavy in her voice. "Touya, you didn't . . ."

"I've set up a date for this evening," he continued, ignoring Nakuru's desperate whispers. "I'm sure you two will be very well suited."

"A date?" Sakura asked confusedly. "With who?" she added, the pitch in her voice rising indignantly.

"A very suitable gentleman," Touya answered nonchalantly, "from a good, Japanese family raised with upstanding morals. The kind of gentleman that knows not to take what isn't his."

The room was heavy with silence as he finished speaking, before Sakura suddenly started laughing awkwardly. "You're kidding, right?" she pleaded between strained laughter. "This is just one big joke. About ten seconds from now, you're both going to yell 'gotcha' and we're going to laugh about this afterwards?"

"Ishikawa Heero will be here at seven to take you out," Touya replied stonily, not budging from his position. He was determined to keep his sister away from that brat, no matter what it took. Now more than ever.

"And if I refuse?" Sakura tested, narrowing her eyes now it was clearly that he was serious.

"You will do as I say, Kinomoto Sakura," Touya answered almost icily, "I am your brother –"

"Precisely," Sakura answered, throwing her hands to her sides in stony exasperation. "My _brother_, Touya-nii-chan. Not Okaa-san. Not Otou-san. You can't make me do this."

"I can, and I will," Touya growled back.

"Touya," Nakuru said again, a warning tone in her voice as she moved closer to his side. As his jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed, he felt Nakuru shift so that her hand rested tentatively against his forearm in a gesture intended to calm him. It was a gesture that made his stomach flip, and in the confusion of emotions, is just seemed to push him further over the edge.

"If you ever want to see that . . ." he trailed off, struggling for the right word. "That _boy_ again you will do as I say, Sakura-chan, and you will go out with Ishikawa-san."

"No, Touya," Sakura argued back. It was the first time she had ever directly disobeyed her brother, and only went to show how much the gaki meant to her. "You have no right, Touya. No right at all."

"I'll show you what right-"

"Touya. Leave," Nakuru said suddenly, cutting in before Touya said or did something he would truly regret. Her voice was so cold and controlled Touya couldn't help but start at the sound of his name coming so icily from her lips. He stared at her, waiting for elaboration.

"I don't care where you go, Touya-kun," she continued, not even glancing in his direction, "but if you aren't out of this room in the next ten seconds, I will _make _you leave, Touya. And you _do not_ want me to make you leave."

Touya nodded silently before leaving the lounge and heading up to his own bedroom to vent out his unspent anger.

Nakuru sighed shakily as he left, letting go of a breath she wasn't even aware she was holding. "Sakura-chan, forgive me," she pleaded of the card mistress. "I should have known he was planning something like this. I should have stopped him."

"It's ok, Nakuru-chan," Sakura answered, dropping down to the couch. "You're not responsible for his actions."

"Then forgive him," she pleaded instead, affection evident in her tone. "All he wants is to protect his imouto-chan, and he thinks he's doing the right thing."

Sakura nodded, laughing harshly at what that meant. "That's what makes this so awful," she said softly. "He honestly believes that what he's doing is for the best, and be damned the consequences." Touya had been protecting her since birth, determined to keep her from the evils of this world. And right now it meant keeping her from the most important person in her life.

"He's never going to accept him, is he?" she asked suddenly, tears filling her emerald eyes with the sad realization. "'Nii-chan's always going to hate him."

"Sakura-chan, don't say that," Nakuru answered softly, sitting down beside the teenage girl and wrapping her in a comforting embrace. "He'll come around eventually," she offered helpfully. "You know how hard-headed he can be. He's just being stupid right now, but he'll get it in the end."

"He won't," Sakura answered. "I might as well just give up. What hope can I have when even my own brother is against me?"

"Sakura-chan, I can fix this," Nakuru promised, "I'll make him see sense, somehow. Just don't give up yet. Not when you're so close to telling your most important person how much he means to you."

"But, Nakuru-chan –" Sakura began to protest, until she was cut off by a gentle voice calling her name.

"Sakura?" Syaoran questioned as he re-entered the room only to see the two young women huddled together on the couch. The two looked terribly distraught. He silently cursed Kinomoto-san for causing his precious Ying Fa such pain.

Nakuru got up quickly, nodding at Syaoran as she left. She knew Sakura-chan was in good hands now.

"'Kura-chan? What's wrong?" he asked softly as went to her side, immediately wrapping her securely in his arms. "Please don't cry," he beseeched her in the most endearing way, "You know I can't stand to see you cry."

"Why do you care?" she asked back, the fight with her brother leaving her feeling insecure and pitiful. She didn't feel worthy of Syaoran's sympathy, not when she was at her worst like this, and wished he would just leave her alone in her self-loathing. "Why do you care if I cry? Or if I pass math? Or if I'm late to class? I just don't get you!"

The corners of his lips quirked into a tiny smile, and he gazed at her with the most tender look she had ever seen in her life.

"Sakura, can't you see?" he asked quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. He cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to meet his steadfast gaze. "I am in love with you, Kinomoto Sakura. Wo ai ni, Ying Fa," he whispered as he lightly brushed his lips to her cheek.(2)

"Wo ai ni, Xiao Lang," she replied shyly, glancing up at him through her lashes. "Watashi wa suki desu," she added with more confidence after a moment to catch her breath.(1)

He smiled at her confession, an almost wolfish grin pulling onto his usually impassive face. "So that's what you've been trying to say all this time, my little cheery blossom," he teased, watching her face flush with colour. "You are _my_ most important person, Sakura-chan," he added, not wanting to be outdone, before catching her off guard by catching her lips with his own.

It was a sweet first kiss, neither of them really sure what they were supposed to be doing, but it conveyed all the emotions that had been kept secret for much too long. And for a moment in time it was just the two of them, each wrapped in the presence of their most important person, and all that entailed.

As the two pulled away, three small words left their lips simultaneously, cementing the moment forever in their minds:

"I love you."

~ to be continued ~

Nice fluffy chapter that one, well aside from Touya being . . . well . . . Touya. Looking at this chapter, hopefully you can see why it has to be TxN, and that's basically because she's the only one who would actually tell him off. Yukito, Kaho, and Tomoyo are so obliging it's scary (especially Tomoyo with her whole 'as long as the person I love is happy' philosophy - I imagine TomoyoxSakura must be difficult to write, because it would be inconsistent with Tomoyo's personality for her to actually pursue Sakura, and Sakura is too dense to take any steps in that direction without prompting). Clearly Nakuru has no qualms with displeasing Touya, and given how aggressively she was willing to pursue him, it wouldn't be much of a step to have her yell at him.

* * *

**Notes:**

The title for this chapter - being a rather archaic word - is synonymous with unrelenting, but I'm going with an 'in' theme here so bear with it.

(1) _watashi wa suki desu_ = I love you/You are my favourite/most important person. See second movie.

(2) _Wo ai ni, Ying Fa_ = I love you, Sakura. (Mandarin – don't ask)

* * *

**Next chapter:**

"That's it," she muttered. "You will cancel whatever plans you made with Ishikawa-san right this instant, and you will take Li-kun out to dinner."


	4. Insight

**I Am Not My Sister's Keeper**

Summary: Sometimes trying to keep two people apart is the very thing that brings them together.

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura. Not even a little bit.

A/N: If last chapter could be considered the SxS chapter, this one is TxN. I just love TouyaxNakuru, so you're gonna have to bare with me. Don't worry, it's not 'til the end.

* * *

**Last chapter:  
Touya goes a step too far, and thus becomes the catalyst towards Syaoran and Sakura finally confessing their love - the very thing he was trying so hard to prevent!**

* * *

I Am Not My Sister's Keeper – Insight

Nakuru stormed into the bedroom looking absolutely livid. Touya didn't think he had ever seen her looking so stony in his life.

"Kinomoto Touya," she demanded in a tone that made him cringe for its harshness, slamming the bedroom door behind her. Touya knew he was in trouble by the way she addressed him fully. She had only ever addressed him in such a way six times from memory, and none of them had boded well for him in the past. Even the first time they met it had been 'Touya-kun' and 'Toy-Toy' (the one nickname he managed to talk her out of). He gulped conspicuously, knowing that this (whatever 'this' was) would not end well.

Other than a single momentary lapse, he refused to let his apprehension show, meeting her glare head on with a grim smile. Had he been wiser with regards to matters of the heart, he might have made an attempt to sweet talk Nakuru out of her displeasure, and probably would have succeeded remarkably and avoided all future events. But Touya remained as dim as ever and made no such attempt.

"Akizuki-chan, I'm not in the mood-" he began nonchalantly, but was cut off by a stern look from Nakuru that looked quite bazaar pasted across her normally cheerful features.

"I don't care, Touya," she responded, eyes narrowed at him. "After what you just did you're going to listen to every word I have to say."

"Well?" she asked as he remained stonily silent. She had expected him to fight her on that, but he seemed to have decided to let her talk. She had very much anticipated it, and without his snarky retorts, she almost didn't know what to do with her self.

"I'm listening," he answered sulkily meeting her narrowed eyes with his own indifferent gaze.

"Touya, what you did . . ." she began, struggling to find the words now that her anger was dissipating. "You have no right. She's sixteen, Touya, and you can't keep trying to control her like this."

"She's my sister," Touya argued back, averting his eyes from her disappointed gaze. "I'm just trying to protect her."

"From what?" Nakuru asked indignantly. "From someone who loves her? Whose whole world revolves around her? From someone who would give up his own life and everything important to him just so she would never have to feel pain?

"What exactly are you trying to protect her from?" she asked, her gaze softening slightly as Touya's shoulders drooped in response to her questions.

"He's going to hurt her," Touya insisted, his features darkening with worry. "I just know it."

"Why?" Nakuru replied simply, denying everything inside her that told her to put her arms around him and never let go. She wondered how she hadn't noticed before how sexy Touya was when he was sulking.

"Because he's the only one who can."

The two were enveloped in silence as Touya's words began to sink in. They both knew what it meant. A shared thought passed through their minds simultaneously.

_'No man or woman is worth your tears, and those that are would never make you cry.'_

He knew she was right, and he _hated_ when Nakuru was right. He always thought that there was something very wrong going on in the universe whenever she was right, and felt it immediately needed to be taken care of before it got out of hand . . . but I digress.

Nakuru sighed, losing the battle she had been waging within herself as she took several steps towards him. "What am I going to do with you?" she asked absently as she flicked his dark hair away from his eyes and ran her fingers down the side of his face. "I mean, Heero-kun? Seriously, Tou-kun. Do you honestly believe that Ishikawa Heero is somehow better for your sister than Li Syaoran?"

"Ishikawa is a good suitor," Touya argued unconvincingly. "He's from a good family. He's ambitious. He has reasonable career prospects – "

"I thought you hated Heero-kun," Nakuru cut in. "You even said the only reason he even got into medical school was because his father donated a new wing to the library."

"I don't _hate _Ishikawa-"

"At least, not as much as Li-kun?" she suggested with a smirk, cutting him off once again. Touya scowled at her, and she just smiled triumphantly. "Everything you just said in favour of Heero-kun is even truer for Li-kun. He comes from the most respectable family in China. He is very ambitious. And if you want to talk career prospects, he's going to be CEO of a multi-national corporation in about five years from now. It doesn't get better than that."

"So?" Touya answered back. "It doesn't make me like him."

"Well you better start liking him, Tou-kun, because I doubt he'll be going away any time soon," Nakuru answered sternly. "They're in love, Touya, and you're a fool for trying to get in the way of that."

Touya sneered in response. "As far as I'm concerned he's nothing but an insolent brat, and I will _never_ let him anywhere near my sister."

Nakuru growled in frustration, narrowing her eyes upon him once again. "You're infuriating," she told him. "I don't know why you won't just accept Li-kun and let your sister be happy. Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

Touya rolled his eyes and shrugged in response, which only seemed to infuriate Nakuru further. She continued to glare at him, her face hardening in a way he had never seen it do before. Nakuru was very scary when you got on her bad side.

"That's it," she muttered, remembering her earlier promise to Sakura. "You will cancel whatever plans you made with Ishikawa-san right this instant, and you will take Li-kun out to dinner for the sake of your imouto's future happiness," she demanded. "Any questions?"

"Excuse me?" Touya asked as it began to sink in. "Have you lost your mind, Nakuru?"

She seemed to soften a little at this, and instead of her eyes holding a frosty glare, they turned to a look of stubborn determination. "Touya-kun, I think you and Li-kun should go on a date," she told him with a cute little determinative nod. "I think that's exactly what needs to happen here."

"What?!" he exclaimed, completely taken aback by her response. "I just told you I wasn't going to let that gaki date my sister, and you decide that he and I should date instead?"

"Yes," she said seriously, nodding her head once again. "I think that's exactly what you two need. You need to spend some time with Li-kun. I bet the you'd find that you two have quite a lot in common – a lot more than you think – and that Li-kun is perfect for Sakura-chan.

"You might even find that you actually like each other."

And so that was how Kinomoto Touya found himself sitting at a table for two in a fancy French restaurant (he had made the booking for Ishikawa and Sakura) with a sixteen-year-old brat sitting across from him wearing an amused smirk.

"Just so you know," Touya said, glaring at the boy across from him, "I still don't like you, and the only reason I'm even here is because of Akizuki-chan."

The younger boy raised an eyebrow glibly and snorted precociously. "You are so whipped," the brat muttered lowly.

Touya just looked at him pointedly. "Says the boy who gave away a priceless medical textbook because kaijuu asked him to. At least I was ordered."

"Touché," Syaoran replied blandly. "Can we just hurry up and get this thing over with. There are ways I would rather spend this evening.

"Most of them involving your sister," he added with an obliging smirk, enjoying the rise it got out of Touya.

"Say that again and I'll break your neck," Touya answered, his voice chillingly low. He couldn't help but be annoyed by the fact that the brat didn't so much as flinch at the threat, and simply returned the glare that was being sent his way. "Don't think I couldn't. I've been training in jujutsu since I was eight. I have a first degree blackbelt."

The brat shrugged. "There are over one hundred different styles of Chinese martial arts and I have been training in 62 of them since birth," he answered impassively. "I'd like to see which of us went down first in a fight, and I don't think it will be me."

Touya simply glared as the brat calmly sipped his beverage. It seemed the two of them had the same taste in soft drinks, and he could almost hear Nakuru cooing about how much they had in common. _'Because the coca-cola company serves such a fine basis for friendship,'_ he thought sarcastically as his eyes narrowed at the glass of raspberry psychic lemonade fruitopia. It's not like it was that uncommon a preference.

"So . . ." Touya began awkwardly, making some kind of effort.

"So," Syaoran repeated back, giving the older male an incredulous look.

Touya coughed nervously as he reached for his pocket and pulled out a set of cue cards. Syaoran couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at this. "You brought conversation starters?" he asked with a smirk.

"Nakuru prepared them," Touya answered grimly.

"Riiiiggghhtt," Syaoran drawled out sarcastically. "I think I should go before this starts to look any more like a date.

"I can't believe my first date is with my girlfriend's brother," he muttered as he stood up to leave.

"Sit," Touya demanded, ignoring the girlfriend comment for his own sanity and the brats wellbeing. "These are not conversation starters," he insisted, "they are . . . interrogation questions."

"Over dinner?"

Touya rolled his eyes. "Has anyone ever told you that you are incredibly annoying?"

"Sakura doesn't think so," he answered smugly.

Touya's eyes narrowed. "I'm going to be nice and ignore that comment, although I have no idea what the kaijuu sees in you."

"Me neither," Syaoran replied, the arrogant façade dropping for just a moment and a softness filling him at the mere thought of his cherry blossom. "Must be my looks, right?" he added, returning to his usual perceived self.

"Let's just start on the questions, ne?" Touya suggested with an aggravated sigh. He glanced down at his cards and groaned at the first question. "What is your star?"

". . ."

"What the hell?" Touya exclaimed, filling the awkward silence. "I can't believe she seriously wants two guys to sit here talking about our star signs."

"Can I see that for a second?" Syaoran asked politely. Touya handed over the card willingly, probably sensing to some degree what came next. As soon as Touya's fingers left the piece of paper, it was absorbed in a green flame and promptly destroyed before either of them had the chance to read about how incredibly compatible Pisces and Cancer were in relationships and as lovers. They were apparently a better astrological match than Sakura and Syaoran, at least in terms of western astrology. Chinese astrology said otherwise – I do believe the common phrase was 'it will not end well'. (1)

"I guess even we have our moments," Syaoran suggested with a scoff, noting that they had once again found something to agree upon.

Touya shrugged. "How about we agree to a compromise?" Touya suggested and Syaoran gestured for him to continue. "I promise not to get in your way, and you promise to stay perfectly still while I kick your ass if you ever hurt her."

"That seems reasonable," Syaoran admitted, clearly getting the jist of what Touya intended to do to him if Sakura ever felt even a smidgen of pain. "But that means you have to respect every decision that Sakura makes. You got it?"

"So if you two decide that Sakura-chan has to drop out of school so she can start making you fifty-million heirs, I just have to sit back and watch?" Touya asked sceptically.

"I wouldn't let her," Syaoran replied coolly. "Sakura-chan comes first, so unless that's something she really wants, I wouldn't let that happen."

"Fine. I accept," Touya said grudgingly.

"Me too," Syaoran affirmed. "So, what are we supposed to do?"

"According to this, we're supposed to talk about soccer," Touya said drolly, glancing down at his 'interrogation questions' once again. There was no denying it now – Nakuru had in fact supplied him with conversation starters, and there was nothing interrogative about any of them.

"Do you mind if we don't?" the young mage replied. "I have a better idea," he added slyly as he indicated artfully to a suspicious looking pair at a nearby table desperately trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.

Touya nodded. "In about ten seconds from now I want you to yell something in Chinese and storm out of here," he told the younger boy. "If you wait outside, imouto-chan will follow."

After waiting the necessary time period, Syaoran jumped to his feet yelling about random directions in Cantonese, before storming out of the restaurant. Touya sniggered as his little sister immediately jumped out of her hiding position to follow the boy, and Nakuru stormed over to give him a piece of her mind.

"What did you say to him?" Nakuru asked with narrowed eyes.

"Nothing," Touya answered innocently. "We just came to an agreement. Take a seat."

Nakuru sat down reluctantly, crossing her arm over her chest and glaring at him as she did so. "I don't believe you, Touya," she told him huffily. "What's going on here?"

"Nothing, I swear, Nakuru-chan," he promised, "only I just realized something."

"What?" she asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"That you like me," he answered with a teasing smile.

"Well, I though that much was obvious," she answered with an eye roll. She was still rather annoyed with him. "We are friends after all. At least some of the time."

"Ah, but you 'like me' like me," he teased, leaning towards her. "You _really_ like me."

Nakuru snorted in disdain. "Finally he gets it," she muttered snarkily. "Five years, Touya! Five years I've been at your side every chance I could get. Five years I've been sending you Valentines and writing you love letters. Five years I've been scaring off any girl who even thought about coming near you.

"I followed you to Medical School of all places!" she cried, an aggravated scream on the edge of her lips. "I'm three years away from registration because I couldn't _stand_ the thought of being away form you, Touya, even for a few measly hours. Everything I've done just waiting for you to notice, and only now you realize. For crying out loud, I'm in love with you, and I have been for the past five years!"

"You know, I'm thinking about changing my specialty to paediatrics," he said absently, a smile still present on his lips.

"Do not test me, Touya," she warned dangerously, eyes narrowing once again. "I could kill you right now if I wasn't so damn in love with you."

And still he smiled, moving out of his chair and crouching down in front of her. With a charming look, he leaned forward and gently kissed her cheek before whispering in her ear. "Anata,"he said softly, his words heavy with meaning. "I'm sorry I didn't realize sooner . . . watashi wa anata o matte iru. Aishiteru, Nakuru-san. Ashite imasu." (2)

Nakuru gasped, almost not believing his words to be true. But when she looked in his eyes, it was there. The look of love she had been searching for all these years. And so there was only one thing left to say.

"Aishiteru, Kinomoto Touya," she replied softly, her eyes shining with tears.

He smiled at her lovingly, before catching her lips in a kiss that had been six years in the making. It was the seventh time in all the years he had known Akizuki Nakuru that she had addressed him by his full name, and he knew from past experiences that this did not bode well for him.

But this time . . . this time it bode very well. Very well, indeed.

~ The End ~

Well hope you liked that. There's a nice little humorous conclusion/epilogue type thing to follow just to finish it off, so watch out of it. I'm struggling a little on the schedules (you'll understand when you read it), but I'll try to get it out in a reasonable sort of time.

* * *

Notes:

(1) I think I have good reason to believe that Touya's year of birth is meant to be 1980 as he was about 16/17 at the start of CCS, and the manga came out in 1996 and 1980 was the closest leap year to my prediction. That makes Touya a Metal Monkey, and Sakura and co. Fire Rabbits, and if you look up compatibility for Monkeys and Rabbits, most will tell you to stay well away. There was a tips section and the suggestion for 'togetherness' was "don't even try it." BTW, totally just realized that I did the math wrong earlier and they all should be fifteen _going on_ sixteen. Oh well. Doesn't make much difference to the story as Tiger-Monkey combo seems to be just as bad.

(2)_Watashi wa anata o matte iru. Aisheteru, Nakuru-san. Ashite imasu:_ "You are the one I've been waiting for. I am in love with you Nakuru. I love you." I just thought the first part was a really beautiful phrase and I wanted to use it somehow.

* * *

**Epilogue: In Writing**

(18) The brat will not attempt to use magic to circumvent this agreement.

(19) The brat will not attempt to make the sister use magic to circumvent this agreement.

(20) The brat will not allow the devil incarnate to use magic to circumvent this agreement.


	5. In Writing

**I Am Not My Sister's Keeper**

Summary: Sometimes trying to keep two people apart is the very thing that brings them together.

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura. Forgot to say I didn't own coca-cola..

A/N: There's an allusion to the story of 'Prometheus' later on. If you're unfamiliar with Greek mythology, he's the one who stole fire from the gods, and he was punished by being tied to a rock and having his organs plucked out and eaten by an eagle, which sounds pretty bad in itself, 'cept Prometheus was immortal so every night the organs would regenerate and the same thing would happen the next day. **Edit:** 22/10/09. Some of the sub-clauses didn't come up the first time, and fixed characters at the end - I had used the wrong character for 'little', thanks CherryWolfie for the heads up.

* * *

**Last chapter:  
Touya and Syaoran come to a sort of 'truce'. Although, it seems Touya requires ratification.**

* * *

I Am Not My Sister's Keeper – In Writing

I the undersigned Li Syaoran (henceforth known as 'the brat') hereby agree to the following terms:

(1) The brat will not take Kinomoto Sakura (henceforth known as 'the sister') out more than twice a week, and cumulatively no longer than ten hours, except in certain agreed circumstances where permission in obtain at least two weeks in advance. (See Schedule 1 for agreed circumstances).

(2) The brat will return the sister home BEFORE 10:00pm (Note: proposed change suggested by Kinomoto Fujitaka to 11:30pm, change denied. Kinomoto Touya (begrudgingly) agreed to 11pm. Dated: March 4, 2003) on a non-school night, and 8:30pm on a school night except for in circumstances pertaining to (1).

(3) The brat will not kiss the sister in the presence of Kinomoto Touya (always known as Kinomoto Touya). (See Schedule 2 for the only exception to this rule).

(4) The brat will ensure that the sister completes at least three years of higher education and does not become 'another statistic'.

(5) The brat will not touch the sister in inappropriate ways until the two are married. (See Schedule 3 for conditions of marriage).

(6) The brat will not take the sister to meet his family in Hong Kong without obtaining permission at least two months in advance.

(7) The brat will not enter the following areas with the sister without appropriate supervision:

a. Rooms with with beds.  
b. Rooms incredibly comfortable with sofas.  
c. Rooms with sofas that turn into beds.  
d. Rooms with doors that lock from the inside.  
e. Close space.  
f. Aeroplane bathrooms.  
g. Elevators.

* * *

**"You're banning us from using elevators?"****Sakura asked sceptically. "Do you seriously expect us to use the stairs until we're married?" she asked, blushing conspicuously at the thought.**

**"No," Touya answered plainly. "This contract remains in effect until _he_ dies."**

**"Aren't there rules about perpetuity?" Syaoran questioned, drawing on a common confusion between wills and contracts. "I doubt any of this is enforceable in court."**

**"There are other ways of enforcing it," Touya replied, cracking his knuckles threateningly.**

* * *

h. Rooms containing Hiragizawa Eriol (henceforth known as 'the blue-haired freak'. Note: Li Syaoran proposed to change to 'the devil incarnate'. Proposed change accepted by Kinomoto Touya. Dated: March 4, 2003).  
i. Co-ed gatherings.  
j. Any area where the brat and the sister may potentially find them selves secluded for a significant period of time with nothing to occupy themselves but each other.

(8) The brat will not allow Daidouji Tomoyo (to be referred to as 'the evil camera-wielding second cousin', or ECWSC) to film intimate moments between himself and the sister.

* * *

**"Agreed," Syaoran submitted immediately after point seven.**

**"Oh, but how will I capture my super kawaii 'S and S' moments?" Tomoyo gasped sadly, even her camera looking depressed at the thought. "Wait, you said Li-kun couldn't allow it, but I don't necessarily need his permission. Ohohohohoho."**

**"Dammit, I knew I should have got a lawyer to draft this thing," Touya complained loudly. "Trust ECWSC to find a loophole!"**

* * *

(9) The brat will not hesitate to inflict grievous bodily harm on any male (even if they are your friend, family member, or the president of China) that attempts to 'get close' (you may use your discretion here) to the sister. Acceptable males are listed in Schedule 4 – you are not on this list.

(10) The brat will not supply the sister with alcohol under any circumstances.

(11) The brat will not get intoxicated or use mind altering drugs in the presence of the sister.

(12) Any vehicle owned by the brat will be subject to an inspection by Kinomoto Touya. If the vehicle fails this inspection, the brat must refrain from transporting the sister in this vehicle. The following vehicles will automatically fail inspection:

a. Motorcycles.  
b. Pickup trucks.  
c. Vehicles with seats that can be reclined _all_ the way back.  
d. Vehicles capable of a speed in excess of 150 km/h.  
e. Vehicles with a safety rating lower than 3.  
f. Vehicles with customized paint jobs involving flames, skulls, snakes or tigers.  
g. Vehicles with over-sized back seats.  
h. Red.

(13) The brat will abstain from any activity that may jeopardise the sister's chances of getting into a good college. Similarly, the brat will support her in all decisions the sister makes regarding college or her career, even if they are against the wishes of his family.

(14) The brat will not have 'sexual intercourse' with the sister except for within marriage and for the purpose of pro-creation.

(15) Any 'sexual conduct' with persons other than the sister – irrespective of purpose – will constitute a serious breach of this agreement allowing Kinomoto Touya to take 'damages' however he see's fit. (LIQUIDATED DAMAGES CLAUSE)

* * *

**"In other words," Touya clarified 'kindly', "if you want to keep it, you keep it in your pants."**

**"So basically, I'm never allowed to have sex ever," Syaoran correctly assumed.**

**"Pretty much," Touya affirmed with a smirk.**

**"So it'll be just like any other marriage," Nakuru suggested cheerfully, giggling as she squeezed her arms around the perpetually grumpy Touya. He cracked the tiniest smile in her direction, which seemed to cause the girl immeasurable joy.**

**"Maybe I should just give up now and convert to Catholicism," Syaoran sighed reproachfully as he quietly prepared himself for a life of near abstinence. If Touya was the only draw back to having Sakura be his until the day he died, then he was pretty sure he could handle it.**

**"But I thought you were a Buddhist," Sakura cut in looking adorably confused (all parties present were in unanimous agreement on this point). "Don't you have to believe in 'Jesus' to be a Catholic?"**

**"Among other things," Touya answered, clearly alluding to parts of Catholic dogma that deemed the use of contraception something akin to a sin. It was in an encyclical, which is apparently something very important to that persuasion.**

**"Never mind, 'Kura-chan," Syaoran answered, giving her a kind smile. "But I think you should know, I've always intended to have a large family with at least . . . three multiple births. And if it takes us fifty tries to get there, then so be it. Fifty it is," he finished, while sending a sly look at Touya.**

**The looks of those gathered were priceless, and Tomoyo commended herself on catching each and every one of them. There was Sakura's kawaii, confused 'dot-eyed' look, and Touya's contemptuous glare, and of course Nakuru who was rolling on the floor in peels of laughter. And we can't forget Syaoran, who was looking very much like the cat that got the cream. It would be an understatement to say that he was pleased with their reaction.**

**"Moving on," Touya said grimly, drawing their attention back to the agreement.**

* * *

(16) The brat will never, under any circumstances, brand the sister with his name, initials, Chinese characters, image, or symbolic image. If this happens, Kinomoto Touya will personally perform a skin graft using skin from the brat's forehead and will exercise his discretion in the administration of anaesthetic. (A/N: At least he's qualified, or rather will be)

(17) The brat will not address the sister as any of the following: his ho, bitch, chick, babe, shiela, broad, dame, filly, gal, or ball and chain. Her name is Sakura, use it.

* * *

**"But what if she likes it?" Syaoran had to ask, giving Sakura a suggestive wink that made her blush.**

**"Not in my presence," Touya answered darkly, halting the discussion.**

* * *

(18) The brat will not use profanity in the presence of the sister, even if it is in a language she doesn't understand – swears are universal.

(19) The brat will not try to sweet talk Kinomoto Fujitaka ('the parental') into circumventing this agreement.

(20) The brat will not attempt to use magic to circumvent this agreement.

(21) The brat will not attempt to make the sister use magic to circumvent this agreement.

(22) The brat will not allow the devil incarnate to use magic to circumvent this agreement.

(23) These rules are god!

(24) Any breach of this agreement will entitle Kinomoto Touya to cause the brat immeasurable pain.

(25) In agreeing to these rules, the brat does agree that if the sister is ever to feel pain (physical or otherwise) Kinomoto Touya is in all circumstances fully entitled to cause the brat equivalent pain and agrees to stand perfectly still as he does so, and will not defend himself through any means.

* * *

In recognition of you agreeing to the above, Kinomoto Touya agrees to the following:

(1) Kinomoto Touya will not prevent the sister from accepting dates from the brat, provided that clause (1) is complied with.

(2) Kinomoto Touya will not ask, beg, plead or pay anybody to inflict harm, serious harm or death upon the brat except for in the occasion of breach.

(3) Kinomoto Touya will refrain from calling the brat 'gaki', 'baka' or 'bakayaro' (or similar titles) in the presence of the sister.

(4) Kinomoto Touya will guarantee his blessing IF the sister so desires it.

(5) Kinomoto Touya will agree to keep a distance of 10m between himself and the brat and the sister during randomly scheduled 'inspections'. Kinomoto Touya also promises that there will be no more than 6 of these a year.

* * *

**"Touya!" Nakuru complained, gaping at the excessive number. "You cannot stalk your little sister. It's just creepy."**

**"It's not stalking," Touya argued back. "They are _inspections_."**

**Syaoran scoffed and Sakura looked un-amused. Given that she was only allowed to go on a date with Syaoran twice a week, she would be spending ever 16th date with Syaoran in the company of her brother.**

**"That's completely unreasonable," Nakuru argued. "Are you honestly planning to keep track of them for the rest of their lives?"**

**She shook her head, grabbing the 'agreement' and carefully altering it. "There," she said. "You get six 'inspections' _in total_, and you better use them wisely, Touya."**

**"I still think it's excessive," Syaoran muttered.**

**"Shhh," Sakura hissed at him, "we're lucky Nakuru was able to talk him down. Be quiet before he jumps it up to once a month."**

* * *

(6) Kinomoto Touya will not act in a way prejudicial to the brat's relationship with the sister.

(7) Kinomoto Touya will refrain from spreading lies/rumours about the brat with the intent that they will get back to the parental or the sister, and thus prevent the brat from seeing the sister.

* * *

**"That was my idea," Nakuru said proudly, smiling at those gathered.**

**"He wouldn't, would he?" Sakura asked, glancing wide-eyed at the moon guardian.**

**Nakuru shrugged. "I wouldn't put it past him. I bet he's already thinking up ways to get around his own agreement."**

* * *

(8) Kinomoto Touya will not file police reports (or any other form of legal action) containing false charges against the brat in ordered to get him arrested/deported.

(9) Kinomoto Touya will not conspire to bring about breaches so as to invoke clause (23) or similar 'damages' clauses.

(10) Kinomoto Touya will _attempt_ polite conversation with the brat during special/family occasions.

(11) Kinomoto Touya will respectfully defer all duties of protection regarding the sister to the brat, and entrust his sisters well-being and happiness to the brat, for as long as she is happy for this arrangement to exist.

Kinomoto Touya has the right to alter this agreement at any point without notice. Breaches of this agreement are strict liability and the brat's motivations, intentions and mental state are irrelevant. The question of breach is in no way subject to the sister's feelings on the matter considered breach, and any attempt by the sister to defer the infliction of 'damages' will probably result in an _aggravation_ of 'damages'. This agreement remains in effect until the date of the brat's death, and may be subject to review at random interval and in relation to certain key events.

* * *

**"I can't agree to this!" Syaoran exclaimed, as he read through Touya's concluding paragraph.**

**"That's fine with me," Touya said as he pulled the 'agreement' away from him. "Guess you won't be dating my sister."**

**"Touya, wait!" Sakura cut in, seeing her brother ready himself to tear the agreement in half. "You don't want that, do you, Syao-kun?" she asked softly, giving him an almost pitifully hopeful look.**

**"No, of course not, Sakura-chan," he said softly, squeezing her hand reassuringly. "But I can't agree to this bit about alteration without notice. He'll just go and change the whole thing without me knowing whenever it suits him."**

**Touya shrugged indifferently, knowing that he was the one holding the cards. He was the gatekeeper standing in the way of the one thing Syaoran wanted, and that put him in a very powerful bargaining position.**

**Tomoyo looked thoughtful for a moment, her acute business mind going to work. "How about we remove the bit about no notice, and add a reasonableness standard to approve any changes?" Tomoyo suggested. "Like . . . uh . . . 'Kinomoto Touya may alter the agreement with notice, provided that the proposed changes are accepted by either 'the parental' or Akizuki Nakuru'. I think Nakuru-chan, and Kinomoto-sensei will be the most neutral parties to deal with changes."**

**Touya scoffed. "No deal," he replied. "If he wants to date my sister, he has to agree to all the terms, including alteration with out notice."**

**"Touya," Nakuru said in a low warning tone. "You will agree to the change, or else . . ." The rest of her sentence was spoken directly into Touya's ear, but they could guess that it was pretty serious given the way that Touya gulped conspicuously and quickly agreed to the change.**

**"You gonna sign now, kid?" he asked once the change had been noted, giving Syaoran one of his most challenging glares.**

**"Hang on a sec," Syaoran replied. "I want to see what I'm agreeing to in these schedules first."**

* * *

SCHEDULE 1: Exceptional circumstances where it may be permissible to extend date limit.

The brat may seek permission vary the 'dating conditions' (clause (1) and (2)) with regard to the following:

(1) School Holidays.

(2) Special occasions (birthdays, anniversaries, graduations).

(3) Festival days (this may invoked no more than 5 times a year).

(4) Family gatherings

(5) Educational activities.

(6) Community service activities

* * *

SCHEDULE 2: Exception to Anti-PDA clause.

There is one, and only ONE, exception to the agreed cessation of affectionate displays in the presence of Kinomoto Touya. This one exception is where the brat and the sister are wed, and even then there must be no tongue under any circumstances, and kisses must be limited in their duration to less than ten seconds.

* * *

SCHEDULE 3: Conditions of Marriage.

In signing this agreement, the brat irrevocably evidences an intention to marry the sister. If he does not possess such an intention, he should refrain from signing and thus, from dating the sister. In signing he is assenting to be bound to marry the sister unless she deems otherwise.

The brat may not marry the sister before April 1, 2008.

All children must be within wedlock.

At least one child should be named after Kinomoto Touya.

* * *

**Syaoran could not resist a scoff. "I'm sorry, but that won't be possible," he remarked with an air of cool. "All children is the Li clan, especially the potential heirs, must be given traditional Chinese names chosen through careful consideration of the stars and consultation with the elders of both sides. It will be almost impossible to convince the elders of a non-Chinese name."**

**"Oh," Sakura said sadly, looking forlornly at the ground. "I always wanted to name my daughter after Okaa-san," she admitted with a sigh, "but I suppose that won't be possible either."**

**"We-well, I mean, it's . . . uh . . . it's not set . . . I-I-I mean . . ." Syaoran began frantically, losing his cool as he tried desperately to relent Sakura's darkened mood. "I'm sure we can make an exception. Li Nadeshiko has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"**

**Sakura nodded vigorously, smiling at his awkward expression.**

**"Good," Touya cut in, "then I suppose one more won't make a difference."**

* * *

The brat must provide evidence of his ability to properly provide for the sister's mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional well-being. Until such evidence is adduced, he will not be considered an eligible suitor.

The brat may not elope with the sister under any circumstances. A proper marriage ceremony must be performed, with no exception.

During the wedding ceremony, reception, rehearsal dinner etc. and any future 'family events', Kinomoto Touya will not be sat anywhere _near_ the brat's sisters, on pain of death.

Marriage to the sister is forever. If for any reason the brat wishes to leave the sister, this will be deemed a breach of this agreement.

The brat may not marry more than one woman, even if tradition, law or policy says otherwise.

In the event of dissolution of marriage (for any reason) the brat will never again be sexually or romantically intimate with another living thing, be it animal, mineral, or vegetable –

* * *

**"Except for 'Mrs. Palm and her five friendly friends'," a mysterious voice cut in, waving his fingers suggestively.**

**"What the hell are you doing here, you blue-haired freak?" Touya screamed, eyes narrowing dangerously. Once again, it was one of those rare moments where Kinomoto Touya and Li Syaoran were in complete agreement, as the chestnut-haired boy also narrowed his eyes at the 'friendly' wizard. The rooms other occupants (Sakura, Nakuru, and Tomoyo) shuddered at the bizarre coincidence and what that might protect in terms of apocalypse type warnings.**

**"I do believe there was an accepted change from my cute little descendant," Eriol replied coolly, unperturbed by the menacing growl sounded from the aforementioned 'cute little descendant'. **

**"Now, Tomoyo-anata," he continued smoothly, turning his attention from the rooms other occupants as he held a hand towards the dark-haired girl in a genteel gesture. "What do you say our two 'Rosie Palms' become acquainted like pilgrims hands that saints do touch, and let me have my sin again?"**

**Tomoyo blushed. She always had been a sucker for Shakespeare, even if he had completely butchered it. She blushed despite the sexual undertones to his suggestion, and had the decency not to giggle aloud at the thoughts his words seemed to conjure in her mind.**

**Touya and Syaoran scoffed simultaneously. "What about Mizuki?" Touya sneered, only mildly interested. He asked out of no tenderness towards his ex-teacher, but rather out of perverse glee. He secretly hoped that the mage had dumped Kaho for Tomoyo, and that bitch would finally know what it was like to be dumped for a younger model. As you can tell, Touya still held some resentment towards his statutory rapist.**

**"Oh her?" Eriol responded nonchalantly, not glancing away from Tomoyo, who blushed a pretty shade of pink under his intense gaze. "She dumped me the second I stopped passing for a pre-pubescent male. Saw that coming from a mile back."**

**He gave Touya knowing look, sure that the card mistress' older brother understood his plight and the implications of what it took to stay in a relationship with Mizuki Kaho. After all, it was really the same thing all over again, right to the very last detail. "Apparently she is 'not the one I was destined to love'," he added with a note of disdain in his tone, "and I whole heartedly agree. Thus . . .**

**"Tomoyo-san? What do you say we do dinner?" he suggested to the dark haired girl, his tone and expression changing in an instant. "Unlike certain people who shall not be mentioned, you seem like the kind of woman who can appreciate a real man."**

**"And that would be you?" Syaoran scoffed. "Just because you are old enough to be all our fathers – including Kinomoto-san's, which, in a round about way, you are – does not make you a _real_ man. It hardly makes you a man."**

**"Semantics, my dear descendant," Eriol brushed off. "Come, Tomoyo-dearest. Your chariot awaits."**

**"Oh no you don't," Touya growled, stopping Eriol in his tracks. "Sit," he said before handing Eriol a fodder of paper similar to that Syaoran was carefully perusing.**

**"'Agreement for dating Kinomoto Touya's Evil Camera Wielding Second Cousin (Ratified by Daidouji Sonomi). I the undersigned Hiragizawa Eriol agree to comply with the following conditions on pain of death . . .'**

**"Okay, two questions," Eriol began as he trailed off. "Firstly, how come I get killed, and Syaoran-kun only gets really badly beaten?"**

**"Because _Syaoran-kun,_" Touya answered patronizingly, "has to live with his mistake and will be routinely subject to blows in a Prometheus sort of way. Next question?"**

**"How did you make this so fast?"**

**"You weren't the only one who saw it coming," Touya shrugged. "Now hurry up, brat," he added, turning to Syaoran, "I have to get that thing notarised by 5."**

* * *

SCHEDULE 4: List of Acceptable Males

The following males are deemed acceptable and may touch/approach/'get close' to the sister without repercussion:

Kinomoto Fujitaka

Kinomoto Touya

Amamiya Masaki

Amamiya Daisuke

Yamazaki Takashi

Tsukishiro Yukito

Cerberus

Yue

* * *

**"You do realize those last three are technically genderless?" Syaoran asked drolly, clearly peeved that he was not on the list of 'safe males' even though he had been warned in advance and Touya had given every indication that although he had accepted their relationship, he would never like him. "And need I remind you that Tsukishiro-san and Yue are the same cough cough* person."**

**"I really don't see why that's an issue," Touya replied in the same droll tone.**

**"And how come Takashi gets on the list and I don't!?" Syaoran fumed, letting his temper get the best of him. "He's always telling her lies and pulling tricks on her. Don't you want to protect her from that?"**

**"Not my job," Touya answered with an unexpected shrug that made Syaoran blink at him in surprise. "Number eleven," he explained with an almost soft tone. "It's your job now."**

**And with nothing more to say, Syaoran just nodded, understanding that Touya was offering more than just a truce. He reciprocated the gesture in kind, carefully drawing out the characters of his name.**

* * *

Signed: 李 小狼 (Li Syaoran) March 4 2003.


End file.
